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Course: 2025/2026

Communication in the professional environment

(14500)

Bachelor in Journalism (Study Plan 2017) (Plan: 383 - Estudio: 212)

Coordinating teacher: TINEO ALVAREZ, ANGELES

Department assigned to the subject: Transversal matters

Type: Basic Core

ECTS Credits: 3.0 ECTS

Course: 2º

Semester:

Branch of knowledge: Social Sciences and Law

Requirements (Subjects that are assumed to be known)

None

Objectives

At the end of the program students will be able to: - Understand communication processes. - Develop the skills needed to give effective feedback and to make constructive criticism. - Constructively participate in any debate. - Master non-verbal communication. - Asses social skills as well as identify strengths and improvement areas. - Improve the levels of active listening, empathy and assertiveness so the person can build positive personal relationships.

Description of contents: programme

1. Introduction: the communication process. Peculiarities of communication in the professional environment. 2. Communication in the company. 3. Active listening. 4. Empathy. 5. Assertive behavior. 6. Non-verbal communication. 7. The importance of feedback. How to give and receive it. 8. Constructive criticism. 9. The constructive debate. 10. Difficult conversations. 11. Intercultural communication. 12. Written communication.

Learning activities and methodology

The schedule is distributed according to the following methodology and training activities: ¿ Seminars-Workshops: The activity is carried out in small groups with the presence of the teacher, working in monographic sessions in depth on a specific topic. Knowledge is built through interaction and work guided by the teacher. ¿ Debates: A topical, controversial or conflictive subject is used to discuss the different points of view on the subject or the pros and cons of certain positions in a dialogue and with specific rules. Open debates guided by the teacher can be used, or students are assigned to hold specific positions to be defended in subgroups of students. ¿ Simulations: The teacher or students design role-plays of real-life situations related to the objective(s) worked on in the subject. ¿ Presentations: Students in groups or individually work on a specific topic assigned by the teacher or chosen by them to structure a specific content to be presented to the rest of their classmates. Some action may subsequently be established to facilitate feedback or to guide students in the debate. Technological aids can be used to facilitate the presentation of the topic. ¿ Teamwork: In small groups of students, a work or project requested by the teacher is carried out with a series of characteristics or objectives that have to be developed as a group. ¿ Individual work: This activity may include individual work on tasks, assignments, projects, readings, etc., which must be carried out autonomously by the student. In this subject, students must not use artificial intelligence tools to carry out the written tests. In the case of assignments or exercises proposed by the teacher, it will be expressly indicated in each case whether their use is permitted and how they are to be identified. In the event that the use of AI by the student gives rise to academic fraud by falsifying the results of an assignment required to accredit academic performance, the provisions of the Carlos III University of Madrid Regulations for the partial development of Law 3/2022, of 24 February, on university coexistence will be applied.

Assessment System

% end-of-term-examination/test 0
% of continuous assessment (assigments, laboratory, practicals...) 100

Calendar of Continuous assessment

¿	Attendance at 85% of the classes is compulsory in order to pass the course (i.e. attendance at 12 of the 14 classes).
¿	80% of the final grade corresponds to the completion of practical activities, assignments, projects and presentations.
¿	20% of the final grade corresponds to the completion of two written tests: in the seventh class, there will be a progress evaluation test in the middle of the term. Students will be asked to answer questions based on the concepts and skills covered so far in the course. In the fourteenth (final) class, there will be a test with questions about the concepts and skills covered in the course. The evaluation will be based on the clarity, coherence, and relevance of the answers, as well as the ability to demonstrate an understanding of, and ability to apply, the concepts related to the covered skills.
The extraordinary call is not applicable as it is a continuous assessment.
In accordance with current regulations, each enrolment in cross-disciplinary subjects, as in this case, will involve a single exam and, in those cases in which the continuous assessment process includes a test, this must be done during the timetable and in the classroom reserved for classes, as these cross-disciplinary subjects will not have a date reserved in the official exam calendars.
In this subject, students must not use artificial intelligence tools to carry out the written tests. In the case of assignments or exercises proposed by the teacher, it will be expressly indicated in each case whether their use is permitted and how they are to be identified. In the event that the use of AI by the student gives rise to academic fraud by falsifying the results of an assignment required to accredit academic performance, the provisions of the Carlos III University of Madrid Regulations for the partial development of Law 3/2022, of 24 February, on university coexistence will be applied.

Extraordinary call: regulations

Basic Bibliography

Douglas Stone. Difficult conversations. How to discuss what matters most. Penguin. 2010
Friedemann Schultz Von Thun. El arte de conversar. Herder. 2012
Guillermo Ballenato Prieto. Comunicación eficaz. Teoría y práctica de la comunicación humana. Pirámide. 2013
Marshall Rosemberg. Comunicación no violenta. Gran Aldea. 2006
Susan Scott. Fierce conversations. Berkley trade Pub Co. 2002

The course syllabus may change due academic events or other reasons.